The role of mentoring in facilitating the process of repurposing OER

This paper presents the initial data analysis of a research that is work in progress. It discusses the role of mentoring and peer support in facilitating the process of repurposing open educational resources (OER). It also reports on the lessons so far learned from the analysis of two distinct but related case studies on working with learners to use and disseminate OER.

Identifying pedagogical, technological and organizational barriers in virtual learning environments

Virtual learning environments are online spaces where learners interact with other learners, teachers, resources and the environment in itself. Although technology is meant to enhance the learning process, there are important issues regarding pedagogical and organizational aspects that must be addressed. In this paper we review the barriers detected in a virtual university which exclusively uses Internet as the main channel of communication, with no face-to-face requirements exceptthose related to final evaluation.

Social Networks for learning : wikis, blogs and tagging in education

Fast developments in information and communications technologies and changes in the behaviour of learners demand educational institutions to continuously evaluate their pedagogical approaches to the learning and teaching process, both in face-to-face and virtual classrooms.

Analyzing and supporting interaction in complex scenarios: the case of DS106

DS106 promotes learners to build a digital identity + personal infrastructure, but how can be the global course infrastructure be improved?

Building an open social learning community around a Dspace repository on Statistics

LORs, addressing content management and preservation, have the positive collaterals of institutional positioning and dissemination, but their main benefit is the empowerment of interest-centred learning communities, as we recognise that learning is much more than content, which becomes infrastructure: the LOR provides the learner interaction with the LOs, but also with other learners and teachers.

Fostering Collaborative Knowledge Building by the Effective Provision of Knowledge about the Discussion Process

Peer-reviewed

Adquisició de les codes complexes finals del català per part d'alumnat panjabi: el mètode experimental

En aquest treball estudiem l’adquisició del català per part de parlants que tenen el panjabi com a primera llengua, concretament en relació amb les codes complexes de final de mot, per a aprenents d’un nivell inicial de català

Simulações computacionais e ferramentas de modelização em educação química: uma revisão de literatura publicada

This article presents a review of published literature concerning the use of computer simulations and modeling tools in Chemical Education. The findings about the possibilities of their application in the Chemistry curriculum, their effective implementation, the teaching methods involved, the research methodology and also the instruments of evaluation that were used and their results were described and analyzed. The need to develop adequate theory support to educators who want to start using this new technology in their Chemistry classes became evident along the research, as well as the lack of development of model perception among Chemistry educators and learners.

L'Aprenentatge virtual com a una nova forma d'ensenyar i d'aprendre a través de les tecnologies de la informació i la comunicació

Els avenços tecnològics de les àrees de la informació i la comunicació estan propiciant un canvi cultural important que repercuteix directament en el món de l'aprenentatge i de l¿ensenyament. L'aprenentatge instrumental d'aquestes tecnologies de la informació i la comunicació (TIC) a priori i l'aprenentatge a través d'aquestes tecnologies amb la finalitat d'accedir a un major coneixement ha provocat que el procés d'ensenyament i aprenentatge s'estengui al llarg de la vida («Life long learning») de qualsevol persona que, per la seva professió, necessiti actualitzar els seus coneixements. Per això, com es podrà apreciar en el present article, les noves línies d'investigació s¿orienten envers dos tipus d'estudi: optimitzar el disseny dels sistemes d'e-learning i analitzar els aspectes diferencials dels e-learners. A més, en l¿article, se¿ns dóna a conèixer com s'està desenvolupant el camp de l'aprenentatge virtual en aquest moment, en particular en l'àmbit de les universitats europees.

Early Childhood Mathematics Education: Research, Curriculum and Educational Practice

This article reviews data obtained through research into early childhood mathematics education in Spain. It analyses the current curricular directions in mathematics education with early learners. It also provides an overview of mathematical practices in early childhood education classrooms to analyse the commonalities and differences between research, curriculum and educational practice. A review of the research presented at SEIEM symposia from 1997 until 2012 demonstrates: a) very little research has been done, a trend that is repeated in other areas, such as the JCR-Social Sciences Edition or the PME; b) the first steps have been taken to create a more and more cohesive body of research, although until now there has not been enough data to outline the curricular directions; and c) some discrepancies still exist between the mathematical practices in early childhood education classrooms and the official guidelines

INNOVATIVE USE OF A TABLET DEVICE TO DELIVER INSTRUCTION IN UNDERGRADUATE CHEMISTRY LECTURES

This report describes a simple, inexpensive and highly effective instructional model based on the use of a tablet device to enable the real-time projection of the instructor's digitally handwritten annotations to teach chemistry in undergraduate courses. The projection of digital handwriting allows the instructor to build, present and adapt the class contents in a dynamic fashion and to save anything that is annotated or displayed on the screen for subsequent sharing with students after each session. This method avoids the loss of continuity and information that often occurs when instructors switch between electronic slides and white/chalk board during lessons. Students acknowledged that this methodology allows them to follow the instructor's cognitive process and the progressive development of contents during lectures as the most valuable aspect of the implemented instructional model.

Rasitusten älykäs seuranta

Tässä diplomityössä käsitellään monikappalesysteeminä mallinnetun toimilaitteen tai mekaanisen systeemin kappaleissa vaikuttavien rasitusten, siirtymien ja jännitysten laskentamenetelmiä. Työhön sisällytettyjen menetelmien valinta on toteutettu 2000-luvulla virtuaalisuunnittelua käsittelevissä tiedelehdissä julkaistujen artikkelien pohjalta. Työn tarkoituksena on muodostaa kirjallisuuskatsaus uusien laskentamenetelmien ominaisuuksista ja metodiikasta, mitä voidaan tarvittaessa soveltaa virtuaalisuunnittelun tarpeisiin. Kaksi esiteltävistä menetelmistä on optimointimenetelmiä (RBDO ja ESL). Muissa menetelmissä käsitellään muun muassa venymien rekonstruointia ja hankauskitkasta komponentteihin kohdistuvia jännityksiä. Moving frame-menetelmässä sovelletaan kelluvan koordinaatiston periaatetta, yksi menetelmistä perustuu selkeästi osarakennetekniikkaan ja yhdessä kappaleiden joustokäyttäytymistä mallinnetaan muotofunktioiden avulla. Lisäksi on kolme soveltavaa esimerkkiä rasitusten seurannasta teollisuuskoneissa. Laskentamenetelmät ovat luonteeltaan ja sovelluskelpoisuudeltaan erilaisia. Optimointimenetelmät ovat parhaimmillaan rakenteiden jatkokehitystyössä, siinä missä muut menetelmät soveltuvat joko olemassa olevien rakenteiden mallintamiseen tai kokonaan uusien systeemien suunnittelutyökaluiksi. Tätä eroavuutta voidaan pitää hyvänä asiana, jotta voidaan valita parhaiten omiin tarkoituksiin soveltuva menetelmä.

Ammatillisen osaamisen tukeminen muuttuvissa toimintaympäristöissä : tutkimus ikääntyvien työntekijöiden näkökulmasta

The purpose of the study was to describe the experiences of received support of aging employees and their work related self-image in changing working environments. Firstly, theaim was to discover how the support from organisations and leaders was verified. Secondly, the aim was to get answers how employees experienced themselves as workers and as learners in the current work context. Thirdly, the aim was to compare different knowledge information stages and company cultures and how they have influenced the experiences of professional competence development among aging employees. In addition the education- and career backgrounds were investigated to gain more understanding of their role in experiencing support and relation to the occupational self-image. The theoretical frame of reference of this researchis multidisciplinary. The theoretical part focuses on the meaning of work for human being from a sociological, late-modern perspective. On the other hand it examines the ageing process from a physiological and also from a perspective of age discrimination and life control. The occupational selfimage and the strength of motivation has an effect on learning in working life which is crucial and firmpart individual trajectories. According to the theoretical review company culture, leadership and especially the managers' role as a creator of a learning atmosphere are increasingly critical for aging adults' learning when the role of informal work-based learning is increasing. The empirical data was collected with aquestionnaire and interviews, which were carried out in May to October 2001. The data consists of 263 respondents of which further eight persons were interviewed. All respondents were over the age of 45 and represented all levels of their organisations in an IT-technology firm and a chemical industry plant. The central findings in this research show that the aging adults have experienced that theemployers do care about the development of their occupational skills. On the other hand there are fewer concrete activities to reveal this support. There is anobvious disproportion between the expressed aims and the realisation of the activities. Signs of age discrimination are few. The style of management has becomemore supporting for self directed activities which are seen to support adults learning. Higher education and individual activity to seek possibilities to learnwere encouraging the development of occupational skills. Age itself was not a crucial aspect when comparing the experiences among younger (45-54 years) and older (55-64 years) groups. Job satisfaction and professional self esteem seemed tobe considerably strong. The individual characteristics were more important elements in developing occupational skills than the age. The degree of anxiety at work was low. In addition among the older group the strong feeling of coherence and the occupational self image were significant for supporting the professional competence. The motivation to learn was also stable. Among the seniors there was some slight evidence of declining motivation. In the IT-firm the support was experienced stronger for aging employees than in the chemical industry plant. Thosewho had experienced support in the chemical industry plant had higher educational background than the others. In IT-firm they also experienced more support from the manager than in the chemical industry plant. The results show that it is more likely that the differences are caused mostly by the stage of information intensity and the character of company culture which is determined by the activities. IT-business demands constantly accommodation to changes and the chemical industry plant which is representing more traditional business field, where the atmosphere of learning is determined by the traditions of company culture, the changes are carried out slowly.

Conditions for EFL learning and professional development : Finland-Swedish learner and teacher perspectives

Engelskans dominerande roll som internationellt språk och andra globaliseringstrender påverkar också Svenskfinland. Dessa trender påverkar i sin tur förutsättningarna för lärande och undervisning i engelska som främmande språk, det vill säga undervisningsmålen, de förväntade elev- och lärarroller, materialens ändamålsenlighet, lärares och elevers initiala erfarenheter av engelska och engelskspråkiga länder. Denna studie undersöker förutsättningarna för lärande och professionell utveckling i det svenskspråkiga nybörjarklassrummet i engelska som främmande språk. Utgångsläget för 351 nybörjare i engelska som främmande språk och 19 av deras lärare beskrivs och analyseras. Resultaten tyder på att engelska håller på att bli ett andraspråk snarare än ett traditionellt främmande språk för många unga elever. Dessa elever har också goda förutsättningar att lära sig engelska utanför skolan. Sådan var dock inte situationen för alla elever, vilket tyder på att det finns en anmärkningsvärd heterogenitet och även regional variation i det finlandssvenska klassrummet i engelska som främmande språk. Lärarresultaten tyder på att vissa lärare har klarat av att på ett konstruktivt sätt att tackla de förutsättningar de möter. Andra lärare uttrycker frustration över sin arbetssituation, läroplanen, undervisningsmaterialen och andra aktörer som kommer är av betydelse för skolmiljön. Studien påvisar att förutsättningarna för lärande och undervisning i engelska som främmande språk varierar i Svenskfinland. För att stöda elevers och lärares utveckling föreslås att dialogen mellan aktörer på olika nivå i samhället bör förbättras och systematiseras.

Enabling constructive alignment in programming instruction

In this thesis, simple methods have been sought to lower the teacher’s threshold to start to apply constructive alignment in instruction. From the phases of the instructional process, aspects that can be improved with little effort by the teacher have been identified. Teachers have been interviewed in order to find out what students actually learn in computer science courses. A quantitative analysis of the structured interviews showed that in addition to subject specific skills and knowledge, students learn many other skills that should be mentioned in the learning outcomes of the course. The students’ background, such as their prior knowledge, learning style and culture, affects how they learn in a course. A survey was conducted to map the learning styles of computer science students and to see if their cultural background affected their learning style. A statistical analysis of the data indicated that computer science students are different learners than engineering students in general and that there is a connection between the student’s culture and learning style. In this thesis, a simple self-assessment scale that is based on Bloom’s revised taxonomy has been developed. A statistical analysis of the test results indicates that in general the scale is quite reliable, but single students still slightly overestimate or under-estimate their knowledge levels. For students, being able to follow their own progress is motivating, and for a teacher, self-assessment results give information about how the class is proceeding and what the level of the students’ knowledge is.